The owl swiveled its head
and looked at me
from the shelf inside the cabin
in the light of my flashlight.
A small owl from the woods
had come in the window
while I was gone.
I grabbed a down filled jacket
and cast it around the bird's body,
picking it up and carrying it out to
the porch.
It didn't struggle
or try to bite me. I could feel
how light it was, the down
of its small bony body
and its hot featheredness.
I could feel the swiveling of its
head
and the beating of its owl's heart.
Then I tossed it up in a motion
that seemed to go right to my toes,
I felt I could fly from the porch
as the owl took off, its wings
spreading
into something large as an overcoat,
pulling me out of myself
so I could fly
for a moment in the dark.